1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a flooring system for bowling lanes and, more particularly, to a prefabricated flooring system for a bowling lane approach section.
2. Background Description
Bowling has increased in popularity over the years, both at the professional and amateur levels. In fact, over the years, bowling has also been increasing in popularity as a recreational sport, which can be shared by family members and friends, alike. To most enjoy the bowling experience, however, it is important to have properly maintained bowling lanes and approach sections, as well as other types of equipment ranging from bowling balls to bowling shoes.
In conventional systems, tongue and groove hardwood blocks or planking is used in both the bowling lane and the approach section. In bowling lane applications, the wood construction consists of several planks or boards that are about 2¾ inch in thickness, and about one inch in width, as measured in the edgewise direction. In the approach sections, the wood planking may be the same thickness in front of the lane (e.g., head section). At the sides of the approach, however, the approach section may have a smaller thickness since these sections (i) do not have the same traffic, and (ii) include an under track which can then be more easily maintained.
The wood boards are joined together along the tongue and groove edges, and then nailed, screwed or otherwise fastened to one another in the horizontal direction, i.e., along the width from one edge to another edge. The nails may join approximately three boards together. To ensure that the wood boards do not splinter during the nailing process, the thickness of the wood planking in the bowling lane and approach section must be about 2¾ inch thick or greater. After the nailing, the edge panels are “sized” e.g., planed, to fit the width of the bowling lane and approach section, and then fastened to the underlying base such as, for example, a plywood base via screws, dowel rods or other known fasteners. Once the panels are properly laid, they are varnished or lacquered to maintain the integrity of the floor, itself.
To maintain the flooring systems in working condition, the wood planking must be periodically refurbished by sanding in order to reduce damage caused by ball release, which is intensified by lofting of the ball in the approach section. That is, ball release causes, upon impact, dents, pock marks and other damage in the head of the lane and the approach section. Warping and other types of distortions also occur over the years due to moisture and wear, which also must be addressed periodically by sanding. Also, it is known that refurbishment is necessary to meet set bowling standards and in order to provide uniformity of all lanes.
In sanding the wooden flooring system, the head of the lane and the approach sections are typically sanded more aggressively than that of the remaining portions of the lanes, themselves. This is mainly due to the fact that more damage occurs in theses sections. However, in either the bowling lane or the approach section, it is well known that sanding reduces the longevity of the wood planking. This is mostly due to the fact that sanding removes a layer or certain thickness from the wood planking and eventually exposes the nails or other fastening devices in the wood, itself. But, aggressive sanding is the only way to remove the dents and other impact damage in the wood planking.
The aggressive sanding in the approach and lane head section results in more wear in these sections. Thus, the exposure of the nails or other fasteners would result sooner in these areas than in the remaining areas of the bowling lane if the thickness was the same. Thus, it is important to have an initial thickness of the wood boards to ensure that the replacement of the bowling lane does not occur often, thus resulting in down time.
The replacement of the wood planking is very time consuming and expensive. Although this is not performed very frequently on each lane, it certainly can be envisioned that many bowling lanes must be closed for a considerable period of time in order to replace or repair the wood planking. This, of course, decreases the amount of lanes available to the bowler, thus decreasing the profitability of the bowling alley.
Over the years, much advancement has been made to bowling alleys and in particular the flooring systems of bowling alleys. This ranges from the materials used on the flooring system to the installation and upkeep of these flooring systems. For example, synthetic laminate flooring systems, i.e., high pressure laminate systems, have gained popularity amongst bowling alley purveyors due to the ease of installation, the reduction in maintenance, longer lasting life, reduced impact damage (e.g., denting) from bowling balls and a host of other factors. Thus, the use of laminate flooring systems can lead to reduced overhead costs to the bowling alley purveyors, themselves. This, in turn, will then reduce costs for the bowling alley patrons.
However, hardwood flooring systems in the approach section still appeal to the “purists”. In essence, the hardwood flooring systems provide known slide characteristics that are preferred by many bowlers. So, to appeal to these bowlers, many bowling alleys were retrofitted with a laminated lane, while maintaining a hardwood approach section. This approach was thought to solve many problems by reducing the maintenance of the bowling lane.
However, after extended use, the hardwood approach section may also become severely worn. In these instances, there are options which the purveyors of the bowling alley have to make. One option is to place laminate flooring systems in the approach area. This option, though, does not appeal to the purists. In another option, a new hardwood flooring system may be laid in the approach section. Although this option appeals to the purists, it was found that material cost, installation cost and yearly maintenance cost are prohibitive. By way of one example, the varying thickness of the wood flooring of the approach section and the laminate flooring of the lanes requires sanding of the approach section which wastes material and is very time consuming.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.